Mystery Takeover
by moonswirl
Summary: Gleekathon, days 925b-931b: All this time it's been Kurt planning these games for them, now they're returning the favor.
1. The Case of the Camps

_Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 44th cycle. Now cycle 45!_

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_**INTRODUCING "CHEAT SHEET" - **If you want to know ahead of time when a certain series will be updated next, just reassemble the link below and check out the list, save it, print it, bookmark it, whatever you need!  
Go to: gleekathon [dot] tumblr [dot] com [slash] cheatsheet_

_** UPDATED WITH CYCLE 45 CHEAT SHEET ** Check it out to find out about **shift days**!_

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_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Brothers to Sunshine._

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**"Mystery Takeover"  
New Directions**

**1. The Case of the Camps**

Kurt was gone now. It still felt odd to be in the choir room for Glee practice and not find him there. Now he was at Dalton, and as happy as they were for him, that he could try and turn things around, they still missed him terribly. He was friend and family, and his departure had not been so much by choice. They still wanted him to know he was part of them, not a foe all of a sudden just because he was in a rival club. Then one day the idea came.

It had started between the three of them: Rachel, and Mercedes, and Tina. Standing about the choir room one day, they had sort of nudged the piano and, in the process, revealed an odd sort of stain. Leaning in, it was hard to tell. It kind of looked like blood, but not really…

"Fake blood?" Tina guessed, and then Rachel realized what it was.

"Must have been from that one mystery dinner, the circus, with all the blood packs." They smiled instinctively. That had been one of their favorite ones. But then they paused, remembering. "Guess we won't be having any of those again anytime soon," Rachel stood, as did the others.

"Yeah…" Tina sighed, but then Mercedes looked to them.

"Why not?"

"Why not what?" Tina asked.

"Why can't we still have the dinners? He's not that far away," Mercedes pointed out. Rachel gasped.

"That's what we should do, we should do it," she nodded. "We'll make the mystery this time, surprise him." The idea found two supporters immediately. "Okay, then first we need to make sure everyone's up for it. We just need to go and ask, there's three of us, we each ask three…"

"So Lauren, too," Tina figured by the numbers. Rachel paused. She was so used to their number twelve including Kurt, but Tina was right, now their twelfth was her.

"Yeah, Lauren, too," she nodded. "I'll ask her, and Finn, and Quinn."

"I'll ask Puck, and Brittany and Santana," Mercedes followed.

"So I'll ask Mike, and Sam, and Artie," Tina rounded it up.

"Great, meet back here when it's done," Rachel told them, and they were off. They would soon return, with everyone on board, even Lauren. "It's… a work in progress with her, but she's in."

"Well what do we do?" Tina asked. Rachel didn't miss a beat, reaching in her bag for a notebook and pen.

"First thing we need is a setting, I'm thinking kind of classic horror," Rachel gestured like the visionary she aspired to be.

"Summer camp," Mercedes pitched in, and Tina nodded in agreement.

"I like it," Rachel scribbled it down. "But wait, campers or counsellors?" They gave her a look. "Counsellors, right."

"Maybe two camps, a boys camp and a girls camp," Tina suggested.

"Friendly rivals," Mercedes added.

"Yes, and yes, keep going," Rachel kept on writing.

They continued laying out the information, plotting out by taking a cue from what they'd usually get in their envelopes. When it came to making and assigning characters, the dry erase board was invaded by three handwritings, three colors, as they all provided names, suggested pairings of character to player, to go along with what they had already planned, relationships past and present, friendships and rivalries. When they were done, there was just one thing left, crucial to this whole thing of course: which names would receive a special letter? V for victim, K for killer…

"Okay…" Rachel nodded to herself as they stepped back. "Now what?"

"We have to make the envelopes," Tina told her. They looked to each other… They needed envelopes.

The next morning, after a group session of copying down the information for each of their participants, the envelopes were filled, sealed, and identified. The stack of thirteen was split between them – of course they'd still made ones for themselves, and each girl left to find the same people they had approached the day before. The last envelope would be delivered last, together.

Rachel went and sought out her three. The first she found was Quinn, by her locker. "Hey," she called her up before she could walk away.

"You guys are done already?" she was surprised.

"Yeah, it wasn't that bad, actually, but then there were three of us, and… But, anyway, here," she pulled out Quinn's envelope and handed it to her. "You play Charlotte. We all play counsellors at a pair of summer camps, one for boys, one for girls. Your character is dating one of the guys in the other camp, three guesses which one."

"Alright," Quinn smirked.

"Great, gotta go," she moved on when she spotted Finn down the hall. "Finn, wait up!" He turned and waited for her to get to him. Things were still kind of awkward between them since the break-up, but they weren't going to let that stop them, not with this project especially. "Here," she handed him his envelope.

"Thanks. So who do I play?" She explained about the summer camp again.

"You play Tommy, you have all the information in there," she breathed.

"Who do you play?" he asked.

"Daphne, from the girls camp," she told him, soon moving along after telling him she'd keep him posted.

"Hey, Berry." She hadn't seen Lauren first, startled when she heard her voice. "Is that for your murder thing?" she nodded to the envelopes.

"Ah, yes," she confirmed, handing her the last of her envelopes. "Your character is called Becca, you'll find everything you need in there. Now I know this is your first time…"

"Please, it's not like it's hard," she scoffed.

"No, I know, but the rest of us have been doing this a while, so there are certain guidelines we follow, I added those in your envelope." Lauren nodded to herself, moving down the hall without another word. "Okay, see you there!" Rachel called after her, mildly concerned.

Tina had gone looking for him before anyone else. "Mike!" she called when she saw him, sprinting to him with a grin. "Look what I got," she presented him with his envelope.

"Sweet, who do I play?"

"You are Joshua, and you have a girlfriend named Annie…" He looked to her, silently asking with a pointed finger. "Yes, I'm your Annie," she beamed, and he kissed her. "Okay, I have to go find the others." She went a few steps, came back and kissed him again before running off for real. She got to Artie next, handing him his envelope, explaining again about the camps.

"I like that," he nodded, inspired.

"You play Nathan, and well… your girlfriend and your ex are best friends," she blurted out.

"That sounds about right," he frowned. After leaving him, she had found her final target in Sam. She told him about the camps, and he listened, nodding along.

"You will be Evan," she told him.

"Great," he tapped the envelope. "I think it's really good you guys are doing this for him," he commented, and she smiled. "I'll be there."

Mercedes had gone and found Puck first. He had given much the same reaction as Sam, completely up for doing this for their friend. So she gave him the whole pitch. "Your character's name is Simon."

"Okay," he took the envelope. "What about yours?"

"Veronica," she told him. Her last two envelopes would be handed out together, she figured, even if things had been kind of off between them lately. She found the two Cheerios at their adjoining lockers. "Hey, guys, I've got your envelopes for the dinner. We're doing summer camp, boys versus girls."

"Nice," Brittany grinned.

"You play Kristy, and Santana you'll be Ruby," Mercedes explained as she went.

"How do I die this time?" Brittany asked, curious. Mercedes had sort of been waiting on that one.

"Actually, you're not dying in this one," she revealed, and the girl froze.

"But… I always do," she defended.

"We know, but we want it to be a surprise for him, and, well, your dying wouldn't be one." Brittany looked to Santana, shaking her head.

"It'll be fine," she promised with a shrug.

"Yeah, I guess," Brittany gave a bit of a pout.

There was one more envelope to hand out, and at the end of the day they had hurried to get in Rachel's car, knowing they had to hurry if they wanted to catch him. When they arrived, he was coming out of the building. "Kurt! Hey!" Rachel called and he turned, startled at the sight of them.

"What are you doing here?" he asked as they came up and each hugged him in turn.

"We've got a surprise for you," Tina announced. "Go on," she looked to Mercedes, who pulled out the envelope and presented it to him. He held it, confused at first. He had never been on this end of the invitation process.

"We put this together for you, everyone's on board, all we need is you to say yes," Rachel explained with a smile. Now he got it.

"It's a murder mystery?" he asked.

"We'd never planned one before, but we wanted to, so you'd know that no matter what, we're all still with you," Mercedes told him and he smiled. "Is that okay?"

"It's more than okay," he looked on the verge of tears.

"The game takes place in a summer camp. On one side of the lake it's the Arrowhead Boys' Camp, and on the other side of the lake there's the Weatherbee Girls' Camp. You play Walt, my boyfriend," Rachel revealed, to a snort from Tina and Mercedes. "Think you'll be ready for Saturday?"

"I can't wait…" he smiled to his friends.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	2. Under New Management

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 11._

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**"Mystery Takeover"**

**2. Under New Management**

After Kurt had transferred, the keys he'd been given as per their agreement with Mr. Schuester and the school had been given back to the Glee Club director. When Rachel had told him of their plan though, he had gladly handed them over to her. In mid-afternoon she had driven over to Mercedes' house to pick her up, with her part of the supplies. They would meet Tina at the school, as she was coming in with Mike, who would help them set up. The way they saw it, they had two rooms to set up, plus dinner to finalize, so they should be fine with the four of them.

They reached the school to find Mike and Tina already waiting there. "Give me a hand with these?" Rachel called to Mike, pointing to a box on the backseat. He came walking up.

"What's in there?" he asked when he felt the weight.

"You'll see," she smiled. They got all the supplies into the school, and there Rachel paused and looked to the other three. "Right, I'll go and take care of dinner," she started, reaching in her bag and producing four walkie-talkies, handing one each to the others as she went on. "Tina, you have the boys' camp things, Mercedes you have the girls' camp, and Mike you're helping on both sides, yes?" she nodded.

"Oh, good, you put yourself in charge," Mercedes frowned.

"What, it's a good plan," she shrugged.

"Right," Mercedes headed into the choir room, designated as the site for the girls' camp. Tina and Mike took their things to the gym for the boys' camp, while Rachel took the food to the home economics' kitchen. Her heavy 'surprise' box was left for a moment before she remembered it and had to stop, trying to decide how to go about things. Maybe she could nudge it along with her feet as she went, or…

"Need a hand?" She turned back, almost dropping her containers.

"Kurt, what are you doing here, it's too early!" she shook her head. He came up and picked up the box.

"I know, but you're already doing all this, and I wanted to help." She smiled at him.

"Fine, but you're with me. No peeking at the other rooms yet," she squinted.

"Yes, ma'am," he told her, rebalancing the box. "What's…"

"You'll see, not yet." They went into the kitchen, where he helped her start prepping the dinner. "I wasn't sure what to make, I wrote like a dozen menus, but finally I took a cue from your past dinners. You always came up with the perfect things."

"I wrote dozens of menus, too," he promised. They'd been working for some time when he suddenly stopped and looked up. "T-shirts!" he blurted out, and she looked to him. "That's what's in the box, you wrote in the instructions that one part of our costume would be presented to us here. It's t-shirts." He could see her trying to hold it in, but finally she breathed out and nodded.

"I had them made as soon as you'd said yes, I think they came out great."

"How'd you get all the sizes?" he asked, pointing to the box as though to ask if he could look and she nodded.

"That was easy, I remembered the measurements from our costumes from Sectionals, Regionals…" He pulled out two of them, one from each camp. Each shirt had a name pinned to it, which he guessed would be removed before they started the game, as they were their real names and not their character names. "And when it's done we can keep them."

"Rachel, this is too much," he shook his head, touched.

"No, but I wanted to," she smiled. "Tina and Mercedes pitched in, too." Just then her walkie-talkie came to life and they heard Tina's voice.

"Boys' camp is all set, so we're going to help Mercedes," she informed Rachel.

"Great, we're almost ready, too."

"We?" she asked.

"Yeah, Kurt's here."

"Oh, hi, Kurt!"

"Hi, Tina," he laughed. "We better get done before they get here."

"Here," she reached in the box and found both of their shirts. "Put yours on, bring the box and you can hand them out to their owners. Just take out the pins first."

Kurt put on his shirt and then went off with the box. As he neared the choir room, he whistled in without looking and Tina's head popped out. "Hi!"

"Hey, take yours? Rachel wants me to go and wait to hand them out." Tina nodded, reaching in and pulling out hers, Mike's, and Mercedes' shirts, and then disappeared back in the room, shutting the door. "Don't forget the pins!" he shouted after her, then moved to stand near the doors. Putting the box down, he paused and looked around. He missed this place, he did… every day. He never thought he would, but he did. Sure, he was glad to be away from the terror he'd been feeling, but he had never wanted to be away from his friends.

"Kurt!" He barely had time to turn that he was nearly tackled by Brittany.

"Woah, hey, hello!" he staggered, but she had him. When she pulled back, he saw her hair had been pulled into pig tails, and the rest of her outfit was revealed as she was already pulling her jacket off, along with the pants that covered her shorts. He guessed once she had her camp shirt on, she'd be perfect. This would probably be the situation for all of them, even him. "Here, this is for you," he crouched and pulled her shirt – getting the pin off – as well as Artie's, as he was pulling up behind her.

"Awesome," she smiled. As they had gone about changing into their shirts and the likes – they had one classroom as their 'coat room/changing room' – more of them began to arrive. With each of them it was a lot of the same, all of them thrilled to be reunited with him. It wasn't like they hadn't seen each other since he had transferred, but it wasn't the same. This was something, beyond Glee Club, that was also all theirs, and still was now. Kurt handed out the shirts, and soon it was easier to see each camp's crowd forming itself. Whether they intended it that way or not, they would start to gravitate toward those wearing the same colors. The four girls wearing Weatherbee colors soon became six as Mercedes and Tina, along with Mike in Arrowhead colors, rejoined them.

"When is this starting?" Lauren asked, seeing they were all accounted for, if they counted Rachel off in the kitchen.

"I'll go check," Mercedes went that way, only to stop and return when she saw Rachel coming. She signalled for her and Tina, her fellow game makers, to join her as she addressed the group.

"Hello, everyone, welcome," she smiled. "Thank you for coming for this first game of the new year, in honor of our usual game master, Kurt," she looked to him, getting a few happy cheers from the others. "The rules are all the same here…"

"Yeah, right…" Brittany frowned, still not over her non-death. Rachel cleared her throat. "Sorry."

"As I was saying, the rules are the same, so you know what to do. I'd also like to say welcome to our newest member, Lauren. If she needs help, guys, please help her."

"I'm fine," Lauren sneered.

"Right… well, good, alright. The girls will be in the choir room, and the boys in the gym. You have your instructions, now off you go." The boys started down the hall, waving to the girls, as they headed toward the choir room. As soon as they passed the doors, the game would begin.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	3. A Tale of Two Murders

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Carry on the Ruse._

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_**ROLES:**  
Rachel as Daphne - Quinn as Charlotte  
Mercedes as Veronica - Tina as Annie  
Santana as Ruby - Brittany as Kristy  
Lauren as Becca  
Finn as Tommy - Puck as Simon  
Kurt as Walt - Artie as Nathan  
Mike as Joshua - Sam as Evan_

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**"Mystery Takeover"**

**3. A Tale of Two Murders**

_Weatherbee Girls Camp – the Choir Room_

When they would finish their rounds of the cabins after lights out, the routine went that they would gather around what was left of the campfire, hauling whatever had been left from the dinner hour, along with a few… hideaway items.

"Last ones until someone goes back into town," Veronica announced as drinks were poured into cups from the mess hall and passed down the line until all of them had been served.

"Thank you, miss," Ruby smirked at her friend.

"Where's Phoebe?" Annie asked, coughing after taking a sip.

"Bed wetter," Becca revealed, her sugary voice drawing their attention for a moment before they remembered themselves and groaned with sympathy for their fellow camp counsellor.

"What time are we supposed to go out there and meet the guys?" Daphne asked Annie and Charlotte, her friends, first, and then Kristy as well. All four of them had a boy waiting on the other side of the lake, one of the counsellors from Arrowhead. Charlotte looked out beyond the lake.

"They should be signalling us any minute now."

"If you girls get caught, I won't lie for you," Ruby shook her head.

"Oh, what a surprise," Daphne frowned. "Always looking out for yourself and no one else."

"Leave her alone, Daphne," Kristy piped up for her friend, and Veronica did the same. They didn't have a problem with the Daphne the way Ruby seemed to have, but she was their friend and they backed her up.

"Don't worry about her," Ruby 'called them off.' "Little girl talks a big game, but she sleeps with the lights on," she looked back to Daphne, then paused, 'listening.' "Was that a wolf howling?"

"Okay, enough," Charlotte threw a small bag of chips at her to make her stop.

"No, but I think I do," Daphne looked spooked, whispering to Annie.

"No wolves, Daph, okay? We're right here," she hooked her arm with hers, and Daphne breathed, leaning her head to her friend's shoulder.

"Who got stuck with the scavenger hunt tomorrow?" Veronica asked. Charlotte, Kristy, and Becca raised their hands. "Yeah, me too," she groaned.

"It's not so bad," Kristy shrugged, pointing to the pile of snacks at Charlotte's feet and getting a chocolate bar tossed her way. She perked up, grinning as she tore the wrapping open.

"Hate bugs…" Veronica shook her head.

"Then what the hell are you doing here?" Ruby teased with a chuckle, and Veronica gave her shoulder a nudge.

"Still no signal," Charlotte sighed, then got up. "Gotta pee," she declared, moving off.

"Think I saw a light on, that'll be Susie and the others in cabin 4," Annie frowned, motioning for Daphne and Kristy to follow her.

"I'll get the radio from my cabin," Ruby got up next.

"Crap, forgot my inhaler," Becca followed, leaving Veronica alone.

"Guess I'll go pee, too. Charlie, wait up!" she went and followed.

It would be a few minutes before they began returning. Charlotte and Veronica were back first, sorting through the small loot of food they had, showing, trading. Ruby arrived next, with the radio, which she turned on and planted nearby before grabbing her cup again. They looked up when they heard laughing and saw Daphne and Kristy coming back.

"What's so funny?" Ruby asked.

"Jordan was the one who had the light on because she said she'd seen a ghost," Kristy revealed. "I kind of didn't tell her she was wrong."

"That's mean," Charlotte laughed.

"That's camp," Kristy shrugged. "Annie's not back yet?" she noticed, and they shook their heads. "She went to check on cabin 7." They all looked to each other.

"Mary Ann," they all nodded at once, releasing more laughs.

"Poor kid," Daphne shook her head.

"Who is?" They looked back to find Becca had rejoined them.

"Mary Ann in 7," Veronica told her, and Becca chuckled.

"I passed 7, everything seemed fine," she revealed, making the others frown.

"Then what's taking Annie so long?" Charlotte asked, at which point Daphne tapped her arm.

"There's the signal, the guys are waiting," she pointed in the distance over the lake.

"So let's go find Annie so we can go," Kristy nodded. The three girls went in search of the fourth of them that was meant to cross the lake.

A minute later, there were screams.

X

_Arrowhead Boys Camp – the Gym_

If their head counsellor was around, he'd find his counsellors followed the rules by the book, all of them previous campers of his. But then even as campers they had known what old Marty didn't know, that rules could be and were bent by his counsellors, much to the campers' benefits, and now that they were the counsellors, they continued those traditions. It wasn't anything bad, by any means, in fact it was good. They would sneak them snacks, gather them for ghost stories after lights out… All the boys loved Camp Arrowhead.

On that night they'd had to cancel ghost hour though, as Marty had hung around too long. The boys had been sent to bed, though they didn't worry themselves too much. On nights when plans were forced to be cancelled, they would make up for it the next night with something even better. At least they had decided to gather anyway, until they would lose a handful of them to some of the Weatherbee girls.

"Any… any chance one of them…. has a friend?" shy Simon asked.

"Why, what would you do with her?" Nathan laughed, getting some snorts and laughs from the rest as well. Simon just bowed his head.

"Fine, never mind," he retreated, shoulders rounded.

"No, come on, don't lose hope," Joshua teased along. "What about Kristy's friend?" he tapped Nathan's arm.

"Who, Ruby?" he asked, then laughed again. "He wouldn't even get a word out before he passed out."

"Shut up," Simon frowned. He had never told them about his relationship with Becca, not like they would have believed him or cared. Either way, they were broken up now.

They had dispersed for a while. The four who were to cross had gone to their cabins, freshening up before meeting with their girls so they wouldn't smell as one might after a day running a camp full of boys. Tommy and Simon had used the time to make a quick round of the cabins. Finally they had made it back to their own campfire.

"Alright, come on, Marty's gone now, let's get the signal up for the girls," Evan nodded toward Joshua, Nathan, and Walt.

"Yep," Nathan clapped his hands together. "Let's get this going, boys!"

"Forget them, dude," Tommy looked to Simon, offering his fist, which the shy counsellor bumped with his own. "Come on, let's go spook cabin 3."

"I don't know… I mean… I'd say more cabin 2," he nodded, and Tommy laughed.

Down by the lake, the other boys were setting up the signal, a sequence of lights they would flash for Daphne, Annie, Charlotte, and Kristy. Nathan stayed to the side, watching as Evan and Joshua fussed with the lights.

"Careful, if you break those, Marty will have all our asses," Nathan warned them.

"Relax, I've been fixing lights for years," Evan frowned, while Joshua assisted. Finally the lights came on and they cheered.

"Great, come on, Walt," Nathan turned back to him… only he wasn't there. "Walt?" He looked back to the other two. "Where'd he go?"

"I don't know…" Evan shrugged. They moved away from the side of the lake, looking around… and then Joshua bolted.

"Annie!" he shouted when he saw her on the ground.

X

_Weatherbee Girls Camp – the Choir Room_

Daphne rushed up and fell on her knees to pick up the inert body they had come upon. "Walt? No, sweetie? Wake up? Please?" she cried, tears instantaneous. She could cry all she wanted though… it wouldn't bring him back.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	4. Dinner Among Friends

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 12._

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**"Mystery Takeover"**

**4. Dinner Among Friends**

The rule had been set as thus: two screams, and the game is paused. It had stumped most of them, but it was made clear now. With each discovered death, there had been a scream, and silent as the school was, they could hear those screams from the choir room to the gym and back. So when the second scream had come, the groups had come stumbling out of their rooms into the hall – neutral ground – and marched out to meet one another. There were some whisperings here and there, which stopped when they all pooled together.

Kurt and Tina moved forward to greet each other with smirks, both of them victims. They had run into one another just before, when they had gone to the room where they were to be discovered dead. She hadn't said a thing, and he hadn't either. But now she could say.

"It was my idea," she bowed her head.

"I've always wanted to play the victim. Although… I would have liked to be able to get kind of dramatic about it, you know a fall maybe, or a stagger, some blood…"

"Maybe next time," she hugged him.

"It was nice, really nice, even if I could never surpass the master of death," he gave a semi-bow toward Brittany, who grinned.

"If I could get everyone's attention," Rachel stepped up then, and the others looked to her. "Dinner will be served momentarily, if you'll follow me," she lead the way and off they went. They went into the room across from the home economics class, where the tables had been pushed together and chairs and settings were laid to accommodate their group of thirteen. Mercedes and Tina came along with her to get the plates ready and served. "How are we doing, you think it's okay?" she asked them.

"Everything's going great," Mercedes promised.

"From what I saw in the gym, everything seemed good," Tina provided.

"Good, okay, that's good," Rachel breathed. The plates were made, and in a couple of trips each they were able to get everyone served and join them to start eating – which a couple of them had already started doing. Kurt was placed at the head of the table – their guest of honor – the rest of them placed six on one side – Rachel, Brittany, Artie, Sam, Quinn, and Lauren - and six on the other – Mercedes, Tina, Mike, Santana, Finn, and Puck.

"Can I… say something?" Kurt looked to the three who had organized the game, and they nodded. The others came hushed, looking to him. "I'm just… I want to say thank you, again. One of the hardest things in all this has been to leave all of you, I mean I hope you know that," he looked to them, briefly catching some small nods. "And these dinners, the first time I made one, I never really thought it would work, much less catch on. Having you guys come, time and time again, so eagerly… especially today… It's more than I could have ever asked for…" he shook his head. There was a moment of silence, after which he coughed. "Sorry, didn't mean this to turn into a speech, I…" He waved his hand about as though to say 'someone start talking.'

"If you all start crying, I'm out of here," Lauren warned them, half-honest, which did break some laughs out of them, though judging by the way most of the girls – and a guy or two – kept their heads bowed, they had to guess they had some tears to wipe off.

"Kind of glad not to be the newbie anymore," Sam admitted.

"Third game already," Quinn smiled to him before turning to Lauren on her other side. None of them were still too familiar with the girl, but she had come through for them in a pinch, and she was still with them, so they couldn't complain. "How's it going for you?"

"It's okay," she shrugged, even if they could all see through her – she loved it.

"Are we changing into our new characters immediately after dinner?" Kurt asked Rachel.

"No, actually, you'll have to play dead a little while longer."

"No problem, more time to digest… so long as we don't fall asleep," Tina looked to Mike. It wasn't the first time where having to see one's boyfriend or girlfriend play dead was difficult on some of them, and in that moment he was just looking at her like he was afraid she'd fall over at any moment. She reached over under the table and gave his hand a squeeze.

"So… they just let you use the school like that?" Lauren asked all of a sudden.

"Well, not… just like that," Rachel replied. "We have to follow the rules, and if ever they have any reason to revoke these privileges, they will. No second chances. It's kind of in our best interest to do as we're told so…"

"… so you don't have to carry me down the stairs," Artie completed for her, guessing she might not want to actually say it.

"I see…" Lauren nodded. If she had other ideas for that night, it sounded like she was abandoning them, which would hopefully be the case.

The meal carried on, garnering a few praises for their chef of the evening. A few times, Rachel could feel a gaze on her, and maybe she'd thought at first that it was Finn, but in fact it was Brittany, a few seats down. It took her some time to figure out why she was looking at her, but then it started dawning her. Their 'resident victim' was still not quite over her maintaining her one character throughout the game, not dying at all. Now it appeared she was campaigning to kill Kristy at one time or another. "Brittany, we're not going to kill you," Rachel finally declared, getting looks from the others at the statement, while the blonde frowned, dragging her fork about in her food.

The dinner was all eaten up, dessert as well, and finally they were all directed to return to the rooms they had left, to the moments they had left, which meant Tina going to the gym with the guys and Kurt going to the choir room with the girls. When they got there, Rachel pointed to the spot where he had been, as she herself knelt down to resume Daphne's vigil at the body of her dead boyfriend. "Please no one prod me, toss me, or yank me?" he begged.

"Don't worry, we don't like you 'that way,'" Santana promised him, getting a frown before Kurt resumed dead duties. As before, they couldn't well synchronize the start of their respective rooms' games, but as she would warn them now, and as Tina would also do in the other room, for this second portion of the game, the halls were no longer neutral ground. They were the bridge, from one camp to the other, as soon they would be forced to join forces.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	5. His & Hers Murder

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Morning & Afternoon._

* * *

**"Mystery Takeover"**

**5. His & Hers Murder**

_Weatherbee Girls Camp – the Choir Room_

The screams had gotten the rest of the girls up from the campfire to come see what was happening. As they came running up, they found Daphne, still cradling him. "What the hell are you all screaming about, you'll wake the…" The closer Ruby got, and as the others pulled back, the more she could see, and when she saw Walt there, she screamed, too.

"Come on, he has to be faking," Becca shook her head.

"He's not faking!" Daphne screeched, and having to say it herself just made her weep harder.

"But… how…" Veronica asked, grasping on to Ruby's hand. "Is there b…"

"No, he's just…" Charlotte still looked in shock, like the rest of them.

"What do we do now?" Kristy asked, cowering. "Who could have done this?"

"What if there's a psycho killer on the loose?" Becca hushed, and there were some whimperings.

"Let's not go there yet," Charlotte begged.

"But if not that, then… What's the other option?" They looked to one another, not wanting to say it: what if it was one of them?

"We can't just leave him here," Ruby pointed out.

"I've got him," Becca stepped up. When Daphne finally allowed herself to let go, Becca picked up the dead boy like he was nothing but a rag doll.

"We… we should go and tell the boys about this," Daphne announced, trying to keep her head held high.

"I'll go with you," Charlotte put a hand to her shoulder.

"Me too," Kristy nodded, looked around… "Where'd Annie go? Should we wait for her?"

"We'll go looking for her," Veronica offered, indicating herself, Becca, and Ruby.

Once the other three were gone, they had gone to where 'Walt' had been deposited, so that they, as Mercedes, Santana, and Lauren, could assist with Kurt and his character swap. From what he could tell them, his new guy was called Colin, was friends with Puck's Simon, and didn't get along with Sam's Evan. He had brought a new pair of shorts, shoes, and after adding a pair of glasses, he would just change his hair, and he would be good to go.

X

_Arrowhead Boys Camp – the Gym_

Much like with the girls, the moments following the discovery of the body went with the approach of the others, in this case Tommy and Simon, after they had heard the screams, and there they could witness Joshua holding the body of his dead girlfriend. He was in shock, gently holding her hand like somehow it would wake her. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" he would whisper. "I should have kept you safe."

"How did she get here? It wasn't the signal, we barely got that up," Nathan shook his head.

"Who could have done this?" Joshua just kept on with his flat, shocked voice. "Annie is a sweetheart…" He got up, still holding her, carried her away.

"We should warn the girls, whatever's happening, they need to know about this," Simon spoke up. "I'll go," he nodded. Nathan and Evan went with him, leaving Tommy and Joshua to wonder where Walt had gone. For now though, 'Joshua' was able to become Mike again, to assist Tina in her swap.

"Putting you down, okay?" he warned her, careful not to hurt her in the process. Rather than setting her on the ground, he put her on her feet, letting her steady herself through him.

"Okay, I need to change. I have to become Phoebe," she gestured. She had stashed a skirt, sandals, and clips to get her braids twisted one bun at the back of her head.

X

_The Bridge – the Hallway_

They had expected a long walk, on the end of which they would find an unsuspecting group, to which they'd have to deliver bad news. This was true… but they had no idea they would be getting the same bad news from the others. They began to see the others as they went up the bridge, and when they saw the other trio, they could feel a prickling at their spines… something bad.

"What are you doing here?" Evan asked, as a relieved Charlotte went up to him, hugging him close.

"Something awful has happened," Daphne sniffled.

"Yeah, we know," Nathan spoke up, and the girls paused.

"You do? But… how…" Kristy asked, and now the guys paused.

"Hold on, what are you…" Simon asked.

"It's Walt," Daphne spoke up, sniffling still. "H-he's… he's dead." The guys reacted in shock, understanding what they had yet to: there were two deaths now.

"What were you talking about then?" Charlotte asked, and the guys shared an uneasy look. Who would have to say it?

"We found Annie, at Arrowhead…" Nathan started. "She's dead, too."

"No!" Kristy cried, covering her mouth, while Charlotte fell back to hugging Evan, and Daphne stumbled with a breath that wouldn't come.

"Someone killed them, but then how did they end up at the other camps?" Simon asked.

"How do we know it's a someone?" Kristy asked. "What if it's a… some two?"

"Okay," Evan decided. "You guys go to your camp, get the others, we'll do the same. We have to do something before this gets worse."

"But what about the campers," Charlotte asked.

"What other choice do we have? If we wake them up, all we'll have is a panic," Nathan pointed out.

"Fine," Daphne spoke up, maybe so to get her strength back, to avenge her dear Walt. "We'll go, and we'll be right back." The two parties turned heel and went back toward their camps.

In the meantime, after an excursion through the other side of the school, counsellor Phoebe joined the party at Weatherbee, while Colin made his entrance at Arrowhead. It would be as though they had always been there, knowing of the death at their camp, though not the other half of the news which was now being carried back to them by the trios who'd crossed the bridge.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)


	6. High Alert

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 13._

* * *

**"Mystery Takeover"**

**6. High Alert**

When each group had returned to their camp, the others had wanted to know what was happening, what the others had said, but all they were told was to follow. They'd ask questions, get no answers, and with that the dread increased. So they followed.

"You told them about Annie, right?" Colin asked, nearly tripping over his own feet. The three boys who'd crossed stared at each other – they were far enough from the camp now.

"We did," Evan confirmed.

"And what did they say?" Tommy asked. Another hesitation. "Guys?"

"They found a body, too, at their camp," Joshua explained, pausing and turning to the others. "Walt. They found Walt… He's dead." They didn't question a thing after that. They would follow, only hoping that they would get some answers and soon.

When it came to the girls, the dread had been immediate, from the moment they had seen the trio arrive, now all three of them with red, tearful eyes. Daphne they could understand, having just lost Walt, but what could have happened over there to make Charlotte and Kristy start to lose it, too? When they'd told the three that they hadn't managed to track down Annie, their eyes had only become stranger. But like the boys, they had followed.

"We have to tell them," Kristy would whisper to the other two.

"I know," Charlotte breathed, pinching at the bridge of her nose.

"I can't…" Daphne whimpered. "I can't do it." Charlotte looked to her, gave a small nod – she'd do it.

"What's going on?" Phoebe called up from behind, and the trio stopped and turned.

"Something we've got to tell you before we get there," Charlotte began, falling silent for a beat, struggling with the right words. "You couldn't find Annie, because they found her, back at Arrowhead. She's dead," she declared, and there were shrieks.

"There's a psycho on the loose, I knew it," Ruby shook her head, looking ready to bolt. Kristy reached out, taking her hand – she'd be okay. Ruby gave a quick nod.

"We're going to meet with the guys from Arrowhead so we can try and figure out what we're supposed to do here…" Charlotte told them, and after a moment they followed.

When the two groups came upon one another, in the same spot where the two trios had met just a few minutes before, there was a moment where none of them could manage to say a word. At a time where they could only just seek comfort, it wasn't long before the couples found one another… the ones who still had each other. Kristy went to Nathan, while Charlotte went to Evan. Daphne was left there, just as Joshua was, and for that they hovered closer to one another. Simon considered this, took a breath, and approached Becca. The usually bubbly girl was so fretful, she didn't question the arm of her secret ex, though she also held to her one friend in all this, Phoebe. Ruby and Veronica stayed huddled together, while Tommy and Colin just stood as close as they could to whoever was nearby.

"We need to think about the campers," Evan had to say. "Two of us have been hit, but what if whoever is doing this goes after them, next?"

"But…" Daphne started, suddenly afraid to say what she wanted to say. "This doesn't feel like a stranger. I-I mean… if that was the case, then wouldn't there have been more… more blood, a-and they might have been… attacked first, you know?" She didn't want to say it, but the implications were there, and they ran like ice cold water down their spines.

"But if that's true, then that means it's one of us… more than one," Tommy pointed out.

"They were left in the other camp, made sure we would all know that this was happening," Colin added on. "This was meant for us."

"Why them?" Kristy asked. "I didn't know Walt very well, but Annie was always so nice."

"Yes, she was," Joshua agreed, bowing his head.

"Walt was the sweetest guy I ever met," Daphne spoke for him. "He didn't deserve this happening to him, and neither did Annie."

"You have a relationship with both of them," Simon remarked. "Annie was your friend, and Walt was your boyfriend."

"What are you trying to say?" Daphne started crying all over again. "That I did this? I would never. How dare you…"

"No, no, that's not what I was saying!" Simon quickly retracted.

"What were you saying, then?" Joshua asked, and now everyone looked to Simon. As shy as he was on most days, having a dozen people staring him down was only going to make him more nervous.

"Well, you know… what if it's about her? They could be coming after her next, or they could just want to make her suffer…" he braced himself, in case they decided to come at him, but they didn't.

"Oh…" Daphne whimpered, holding closer to Joshua now, and he reciprocated by putting his arms around her – they wouldn't touch her so long as he was there.

"They could go after Charlotte, too," Evan realized, looking to Daphne's other best friend, also bringing her closer. Realizing this, the blonde may have tried to look unafraid, but she wouldn't fool many if any of them.

"But how does that even work?" Ruby spoke up. "You expect us to believe there are people here willing to kill people just to make her feel bad?"

"You never know what's in a person's heart until the moment comes," Becca reflected, securing the existence of chills in all of them.

"How much time went by between when we saw them last and when we found them? Not that long," Phoebe shook her head.

"I say there were two of them," Veronica nodded. "One at each camp. But then what? Did they cross over? Bring them back with them, or…"

"Then they'd be working together," Nathan agreed. "This was planned."

TO BE CONCLUDED (TOMORROW)


	7. Campfire Out

_**This is a shift day [see above].** There was another upload this morning: Past Ink & Present._

* * *

**"Mystery Takeover"**

**7. Campfire Out**

It was not an uncommon event for some of them to sneak around. They would go into town, or across the lake to the other camp, to see someone… Telling the difference between absences that were completely innocent – or at least not innocent but not murderous either – and ones that could have been spurred with the intent to kill was not the easiest thing to do. Until that day, none of them would have believed any of their friends capable of this, and yet here they were.

But then they had to try and think of ones where something just didn't fit, or something repeated. It wasn't unnatural to see some of the Weatherbee girls roaming through Arrowhead, but then all of those they saw they would either track to one of their counsellors that they were seeing, or right to the head counsellor's office. It was another thing to see one of them with absolutely no reason, an oddity, and it would be Colin who would recall this, eventually, working it out from the other sightings he might have made. He observed at first, but then he had to say it.

"I've been seeing you, around camp recently," he turned his eyes on Ruby. She shrugged, as though to say 'yeah, and?' "What were you doing there?"

"Visiting," she simply stated.

"Visiting who?" Simon asked, each guy slowly coming to realize they'd seen her as well, and it wasn't with any of them, as far as they could tell. If Ruby was looking to pin this on anyone, she was being shut out at every port.

"Marty," she spurted suddenly. "He didn't want me to tell anyone, but there, secret's out."

"Not the only thing that's out," Evan shook his head, as the guys stood taller, with a card to play that none of the girls had. "We've known he was gay since back when we were campers."

"Ruby, what did you do?" Kristy whimpered, and now the girl was cornered. "You killed Annie, didn't you…" her voice was low, not wanting to believe. She was right on the edge of bursting, and they all knew it, somewhere among them one more than the others, even if they wouldn't let it out. With any hope she would mind the silence she had sworn.

"I… You know what, I'll say it, because I don't regret it. Yes, I did it. I wringed her little neck until she was d…"

"Murdering bitch!" Daphne launched so unprovoked that by the time both Tommy and Colin could wake up and reach to hold her back, all they got was both her wrists, which snapped her back into falling to her knees. "She was your friend, too!" she cried.

"I had nothing against her," Ruby shrugged. She wasn't getting away, surrounded as she was, unless she felt like jumping from the bridge. "I just did what I was told." This gave the others pause for a moment, and she could almost have gotten away, but it didn't last long enough.

"What?" Becca asked.

"I did what he wanted me to, and he did what I wanted him to. And then we swapped. See how that worked out?" Her smile was almost frightening in how natural it was.

"Someone told you to kill Annie?" Veronica shook her head. "Who?"

"Gee, I don't know, how about the guy who should have been the one to try and tackle me," she looked to Daphne, "The guy who should have been asking that question," she turned her look to Becca, then lifted her gaze again, eyes widening. "Wait!" They all turned to look where she was looking, just as Kristy screamed. Joshua had grabbed her from behind, arm across her throat and holding to her shoulder, like a human shield.

"One wrong move and you'll have a third body. This one won't be so clean."

"Josh, man, what are you doing?" Nathan approached, and Kristy had to backpedal as she was tugged back when Joshua backed up.

"Please, don't hurt me," the girl begged.

"I wouldn't have to do a thing if someone had kept their mouth shut like they were supposed to. See what you're making me do, Ruby?"

"You wanted to bump off your girlfriend, I wanted to stick it to dear old Daph there. If you'd done your own dirty work, we wouldn't be in this mess!" Ruby sneered. Too late, she realized it was the wrong move. She didn't even see his arm jerk, not until Kristy's back arched and a gasp exploded from her lips. They screamed, but it was too late. The blonde crumbled to the ground, while Joshua took off at a run.

"Don't let her get away!" Colin pointed to Ruby while he and the guys ran after Joshua. The girls huddled around their former friend, though there was no chance she'd run either way; she just stood there, frozen, looking at the fallen girl who was no longer moving. Joshua didn't get far. Before long, the guys had him stopped, restrained.

A bell was rung and they all knew what this meant. The game was over. Rachel had pulled the bell – from an old bicycle – from her pocket, holding it high above her head before pulling the lever. The guys let go of Mike, the girls backed away from Santana, who unfroze. And Brittany, well… she laughed, rolling back into a seated position.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Rachel looked to her.

"I know," Brittany nodded, grinning.

"It was my idea," Mike admitted, as he and the guys returned. "Why break a record?" Brittany hooted and hollered at that, while Santana moved up to offer her hands and get her up.

"It was kind of dramatic," Tina approved, moving up to Mike with a mock glare at the fact that he was the big baddie in all of this. He presented sad eyes and she chuckled, hugging him.

"Well, as the senior mystery producer here, for your maiden voyage I'd say it was a rousing success," Kurt pronounced, giving Mercedes a back hug, making her laugh.

"Kurt, you need to do these again," Brittany spoke up. "We don't care that you don't go here anymore. We miss you, and this has been great, like old times."

"I'm with Britt on that," Santana nodded, as did all the others.

"This actually didn't suck," Lauren added, and the rest cheered.

"The crown is yours," Rachel was happy to bow her head. "But if you need assistants, we're always happy to help, right?" she looked to Tina and Mercedes and they agreed.

"I… I think it's definitely something I can look into," Kurt smiled, keeping any tears that might have any idea of escaping good and reined in. He couldn't deny he still had plenty of unused scenarios in his head, just waiting to be performed… and maybe he could talk Blaine into joining them… Any chance to get closer was worth exploring, right?

THE END


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